Short answer
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February, the start of the Year of the Goat, according to Wikipedia and the Hong Kong Observatory. It is not a public holiday in Phuket: the Bank of Thailand's 2027 calendar gives it only to five southern provinces. Phuket City Municipality holds a street festival in the Old Town a few days after the new year, on 22–24 February in 2026 and 3–5 February in 2025. We found no 2027 dates by 3 November 2026.
When is Chinese New Year 2027, and is it a holiday in Phuket?
Chinese New Year 2027 falls on Saturday 6 February. Wikipedia lists the year as the Year of the Goat, and the Hong Kong Observatory's calendar conversion table for 2027 names it the Ding-wei year of the Goat. Wikipedia puts the Lantern Festival, the 15th day of the new year, on Saturday 20 February. Its list of Thai public holidays adds that the new year is observed by Thai Chinese and parts of the private sector, usually for three days starting the day before New Year's Eve, which by that rule means Thursday 4 to Saturday 6 February.
It is not a public holiday in Phuket. Phuket 101 says Chinese New Year is not an official public holiday in Thailand, and the Nation's report of the Bank of Thailand's 2027 calendar gives it as an extra bank holiday only for branches in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla, five southern provinces. Our 2027 public holidays guide has the full list. For Bangkok's Yaowarat celebration, see our Chinese New Year in Bangkok guide.
When is the Phuket Chinese New Year festival in 2027?
The main event is a street festival in Phuket Old Town run by Phuket City Municipality. The Phuket News reported that the 2026 edition, the Phuket Chinese New Year Festival 2026, ran from 22 to 24 February, five days after the new year on 17 February. The same paper reported that the 2025 edition ran from 3 to 5 February, five days after the new year on 29 January. Phuket 101, whose Chinese New Year guide was last updated on 3 July 2026, still calls the event the Old Phuket Town Festival and lists its dates as to be confirmed.
We found no announcement of 2027 dates by 3 November 2026. The Phuket News reported that the municipality announced the 2026 programme at a press conference on 9 February, eight days before the new year and 13 days before the festival, and the 2025 programme on 27 January, seven days before it. Phuket 101 says exact schedules are usually announced only a few weeks before the event, so book your room first and fix the festival evenings later.
What is in the Old Town festival, based on the 2026 edition?
In 2026 the festival ran each evening from 18:00 to 23:00 along Thalang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Thepkrasattri roads, according to The Phuket News. Its report of the opening, on 22 February at the Chartered Bank Intersection, gives the theme as 'Phuket Festival 2026: Happiness in Every Flavour', with light-and-sound installations and cultural shows on seven stages. The municipality announced a parade of more than 300 people from the public and private sectors, schools and community groups, and the paper reported one moving from Nawamin Square to the Chartered Bank Intersection on opening night.
The programme also listed a tunnel of illuminated dragons more than 40 metres long, a daily check-in activity in the Old Town with 600 souvenirs given away each day, and cultural demonstrations: Chinese paper-cutting, calligraphy, gold-paper folding and guzheng music. The municipality arranged five car parks for more than 600 vehicles, with police and municipal officers managing traffic. These are the 2026 plans, and 2027 may differ; the 2025 edition, for example, had a 40-metre Dragon Lantern Tunnel and parking for more than 920 vehicles at eight sites.
Where are the lanterns and the Wat Chalong Fair?
The Phuket Lantern Festival is a separate display. In 2026 it ran from 11 February to 3 March, opening at Queen Sirikit Park, with lanterns at Dragon Square and at Suriyadej Circle, according to The Phuket News. The Lantern Festival day itself is 3 March in 2026 and 20 February in 2027, according to Wikipedia, but no 2027 dates for the display have been announced. Limelight Phuket, a shopping complex, has held its own lantern festival every year since 2016, with lion dances and red envelopes, the paper said.
The Wat Chalong Fair is held at Wat Chalong in the same weeks. Phuket 101 describes a large open-air fair with hundreds of food vendors, clothing stalls, plant sellers and funfair games, and evening shows that come alive after sunset. The TAT Phuket Office listed the 2026 fair for 16 to 22 February, The Phuket News reported. Wat Chalong is not a Chinese temple, Phuket 101 notes; the fair simply falls in the new year period.
Which shrines should you visit, and how do you behave there?
Phuket 101 says Chinese shrines around the island, including the large Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town, are busy with merit-makers at the new year, and that families sweep their homes, make merit and prepare feasts, while younger relatives wait for an ang pao, a red envelope with money. The Phuket News reported that more than 40 shrines belong to the Phuket Shrine Association, which held its Chinese New Year ceremonies at Bang Neow Shrine on 21 February 2026.
For a first visit, Phuket 101 lists Jui Tui Shrine at 283 Soi Phutorn with free entry and no dress code, and calls Put Jaw Shrine, next door, the oldest Chinese shrine in Phuket Town; it came out of a renovation in August 2026. In the Old Town, the Hainan Shrine on Thalang Road dates from 1910 and the Shrine of the Serene Light off Phang Nga Road from 1891, and our Old Town walking guide gives a route. Phuket 101 suggests wearing red or gold for luck. Dress modestly and keep your voice low, as in any place of worship. For the same shrines in October, see our Vegetarian Festival guide.
What should you eat during the festival?
The municipality described the 2026 festival as a City of Gastronomy zone with more than 400 food, drink and product stalls, and its 2025 announcement referred to Phuket's designation as a UNESCO City of Gastronomy. For Phuket's Hokkien dishes, Phuket 101's guide to ten local specialities, last updated on 3 July 2026, lists Mee Hokkien, noodles stir-fried with pork, squid and prawns, at 40 baht a plate; Por Pia, a fresh spring roll, at 30 baht; Lo Ba, fried pork offal, at 80 baht; Oh Aew, a banana jelly dessert, at about 12 baht; and Tao Sor, a Hokkien-style pastry, at 40 baht.
Phuket 101 says most of these are found around the corner of Dibuk Road and Yaowarat Road, mainly at Lock Tien. Hotels and restaurants outside the Old Town hold their own dinners; Phuket 101 says these are usually buffets with festive dishes such as suckling pig, duck and dim sum. We found no 2027 menus yet. Prices change, so treat the Phuket 101 figures as a guide and check on the day.
How crowded is Phuket at Chinese New Year, and how should you plan?
The new year is busy. The TAT Phuket Office forecast an average hotel occupancy of 81.87 percent for 17 to 23 February 2026 and tourism revenue of more than 600 million baht, The Phuket News reported, and shop owners and street vendors on Thalang Road reported higher sales, particularly from visitors from China, Singapore and Malaysia. Phuket 101 says the most popular beachfront hotels sell out weeks ahead, especially over New Year and Chinese New Year, and advises booking one to two months ahead. In 2027 the new year falls in the first week of February, inside the peak season that Phuket 101 puts from mid-December to February.
In the Old Town, Phuket 101 says traffic gets heavy on festival evenings, so arrive early or take a taxi; our Phuket taxi and Grab guide has fares and apps. Two weekly rhythms matter. The Thai Hua Museum is open 9 am to 5 pm, closed Mondays, and costs 200 baht, according to Phuket 101, and the Sunday walking street on Thalang Road runs from 4 pm to 9 pm. In February 2027 the Sundays are the 7th and 14th and the Mondays the 8th and 15th.
If you stay for the Lantern Festival on Saturday 20 February, note that Makha Bucha Day falls on Sunday 21 February on the Bank of Thailand's calendar, with Monday 22 February as the substitute holiday. Wikipedia says alcohol sales are banned on the main Buddhist holy days, so see our alcohol hours guide and buy what you need the day before. For weather and sea conditions, read our Phuket in February guide.
Which of our tours fit around the festival?
Our Phuket half-day city tour is from $25 per person, takes about 4 to 5 hours and starts with hotel pickup between about 8:00 and 9:00 am. It includes Karon Viewpoint, the Big Buddha, Wat Chalong and a stop on foot around Thalang Road, so it shows the shophouses and shrines by day. The festival is an evening event that you visit on your own from 18:00, and the tour does not include the Thai Hua Museum.
For a boat day in the same week, our Phi Phi and Maya Bay speedboat tour is from $75 per person and takes about 8.5 hours. Phuket 101 says popular tour boats fill up days ahead in peak season, so send us your dates early and we check the pickup time against your festival evening.
Practical checklist
- Pencil in Saturday 6 February 2027 for Chinese New Year and book a beachfront hotel one to two months ahead.
- Do not fix festival evenings yet: the 2027 dates had not been announced by 3 November 2026.
- Plan for 18:00 to 23:00 on Thalang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Thepkrasattri roads, the 2026 hours, and arrive early or take a taxi.
- Visit the Thai Hua Museum on a day other than Monday, and the Sunday walking street on 7 or 14 February.
- Wear red or gold, dress modestly at shrines and keep small cash for food stalls.
- Check the Makha Bucha alcohol ban on Sunday 21 February if you stay for the Lantern Festival on the 20th.
Questions and answers
When is Chinese New Year in 2027?
Saturday 6 February 2027, the Year of the Goat, according to Wikipedia and the Hong Kong Observatory. The Lantern Festival follows on Saturday 20 February.
Is Chinese New Year a public holiday in Phuket?
No. Phuket 101 says it is not an official public holiday in Thailand, and the Bank of Thailand's 2027 calendar, as reported by the Nation, gives it only to financial institutions in Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun and Songkhla.
When is the Phuket Old Town Chinese New Year festival in 2027?
The dates had not been announced by 3 November 2026. The 2026 edition ran 22 to 24 February and the 2025 edition 3 to 5 February, each five days after the new year, according to The Phuket News.
Where is the festival and what time does it start?
In 2026 it ran along Thalang, Krabi, Phang Nga and Thepkrasattri roads in Phuket Old Town, from 18:00 to 23:00 each evening, according to The Phuket News. Check the 2027 hours when they are announced.
Is the Phuket festival free?
None of the reports we read mentions an entry fee, and the 2026 festival was held along public streets. Food stalls charge for what you buy. We could not confirm the 2027 arrangements.
What should I eat in Phuket Old Town at Chinese New Year?
Phuket 101 lists Hokkien dishes such as Mee Hokkien noodles at 40 baht, Por Pia spring rolls at 30 baht and Lo Ba at 80 baht, mostly around Dibuk Road and Yaowarat Road. The 2026 festival had more than 400 food stalls.